Monthly Archives: December 2010

Cadillac is one of those restaurants that I stumble to when I need some comfort after a long night on the town. Walking into the airconditioned dining area, you are greeted with a bar that strangely looks familiar to several in Phnom Penh. Looking at the menu, you will notice a good ol’ Americana feel to it. Such items as chicken fried steaks, po boys and pecan pie are sure to make an American feel right at home.

For the review, I had the chicken fried steak. For those who aren’t familiar with the dish, it is a great example of Americana. First you take an inexpensive cut of meat, pound the crap out of it until tender, dredge it in some flour then pan fry it. To make sure nothing goes to waste, flour, milk, salt and pepper are added to the drippings to make an artery clogging gravy to be topped on the steak.

I first had the chicken fried steak at Cadillac over a year ago. I wasn’t impressed then as it wasn’t as tender as I would have liked but I am definitely impressed now.

The steak was pounded to perfection, tender enough for easy mastication but firm enough to retain its shape. The gravy was rich and there was plenty of it. The steak comes with two side dishes. I had it for breakfast so I added a fried egg and some chips. I didn’t bother touching the egg and only ate a quarter of the chips because of the huge portion of the steak. After a couple of french press coffees and the chicken fried steak breakfast, the headache wasn’t so bad and life was almost normal again.

Healthy? Hells no. Comforting? Hells yeah. Just what I needed after a long night of drinking.

— Vinh

The breakfast menu had a few sets which were numbered like value meals so I went for the McMuffin equivalent. The breakfast sandwich was fine, the fries forgettable and the coffee was french press which is not my favorite. None of it bad but for the price, I think there are better breakfast sandwiches in PP. Also, they were blaring the Beatles which was killing me for how early it was. I did, however, have a bit of Vinh’s steak and it was really tasty and would probably go for that next time I’m looking for a piece of meat that’s bigger than my head. — Bryse

Hung over Vinh: 5 out of 5

Feeling not too bad Vinh: 4 out of 5

Tired and unable to take loud music Bryse: 2.5 out of 5

Cadillac Bar/Restaurant

Nº. 219E, Sisowath Quay

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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I was in the Garage a week or so with a friend from Hanoi who wanted to have a drink with some great tunes. Whilst there, I got to talking to Jeff and found out that he will be expanding his menu of excellent burgers and hot dogs to cuban sandwiches, pizzas and other items.

If the grilled burgers are any indication of the menu, it will be a welcome addition to the culinary landscape of Phnom Penh.

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Upon walking into Happa, the first thing you notice is the big griddle that practically everything on the menu is prepared on. One of the great things about this style of cooking is that it tends to be very hygienic which is always a plus to see in Cambodia.

Now onto the food.

The Okonomiyaki with cheese and bacon (shown above) was a very polarizing dish for me. I like the combination of the smokiness of the bacon along with the very sweet oyster sauce that topped the pancake but didn’t care for the cheese at all.

We also had some very standard gyoza, a fantastic yakisoba with seafood, and deep fried chunky tofu in a radish sauce. The tofu was fried perfectly, topped with a roasted piece of eggplant and some finely chopped radish (shown above). The best part of the meal was that it was great value for quality. — Vinh

The okonomiyaki came to the table first which was exciting but the first bite was a curve ball. It the kind of thing where you think ‘how could the bacon and cheese option not be amazing?’ but something was not right. Kind of reminded me of cheesy blasters. That being said, everything else was really tasty. The yakisoba shown above was really nice and colorful.

The gyoza was perfectly seared on their large skillet and delicious. Overall, Happa is not too expensive, has a nice atmosphere and the food was pretty great. I will definitely be back. — Bryse

Vinh: 4 out of 5 Nyomies

Bryse: 4.5 out of 5 nyomies

Happa

Nº. 17AEo, Street 278

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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If you’ve been to Ho Chi Minh City and have eaten at the original, you will understand my utter joy in seeing this. I had a peek inside and it looks like the design is very similar to the old Quan An Ngon before it moved last year.

If you haven’t eaten at the original, you should. Check out reviews from the New York Times and Frommers here.